RUN,DAISY,RUN !

 Run, Daisy, run!

I need to keep going. My feet hurt, but I’m going to walk a little faster. I don’t want to run just yet . He doesn’t think I can see him back there. But I know he’s there behind me, moving in and out around the big magnolia trees on Mr. Cantor's property. What if I just turned around? Would he run the other way? I see his shadow over my left shoulder when I turn my head just a little bit. It looks like a black ghost. Is there such a thing as a black ghost? Are there black ghosts in Kalamazoo?

Run, Daisy, run!

I should have brought Peppermint with me. You're safer when you have a big dog. Peppermint is a guard dog. She’s old, but if she saw a black ghost, she would growl until the fur stood up on her back and then she would bark and bark, and then she would just whimper. Whimpering wouldn’t scare a scary person, would it? I should have brought Peppermint anyway. But then Mom would have seen us leave and gotten mad because I can’t be late and it is late, isn’t it?.I think I can see the moon a little bit if I look up, but I can’t look up because what if I fall into a ditch and the black ghost grabs me and carries me off to his cave? Do ghosts live in caves?

Run, Daisy, run!

I’m not going to turn around all the way, but I can see over my shoulder; he looks like he's limping. Limp- running. 

I am not turning around. If he knows I see him, he might chase me faster. Maybe it isn’t a limping man or a ghost. What if it’s the crazy lady in the shack near the pond, the one who wanders around in mismatched shoes and throws stones at the squirrels. It could be her. Peppermint growls at her. And she chases her!

Or it could be Mr. Kelsey, the man with the make-believe leg who lives above the grocery store. He has a gun. He shoots birds. Would he shoot me? If I start running?

Should I start running? No, Shelley said. There are Coyotes in the bushes at night, waiting for prey to run by. Will I be prey if I run? It’s not windy; why are the bushes moving right over there?

I can almost hear his footsteps. Right behind me. Does he want my money?

I don’t have any money. What does he want?

Run, Daisy, Run!

I’m cold, and I’m so tired. Oh no, are those snowflakes? If only Peppermint were here; Peppermint is a St. Bernard. She’s a snow rescuer. I could curl up with her, and she would keep me safe. She’s as warm and furry as a bear. What if it’s a bear that’s following me?A big, hungry grizzly bear that comes out at night and hunts for ten-year-old girls? Is he waiting for me to stop running so he can crush me to death with his big paws? And bury me in the snow,

“Daisy,daisy .stop……you shouldn't be out here in your ….…”

Someone knows my name. Who’s calling me? Is it the ghost or the bear or Mr.Kelsey?I need to walk a little faster. To get warm. I will try to walk-run.

“Daisy, Daisy, stop, it’s freezing out here. And you are in your bare feet…in the snow.””

Is it freezing? I hadn’t noticed. Am I barefoot? So what? I have to stay ahead of that thing behind me. I am afraid to look back.. What if it isn’t a person or a bear at all? It could be a zombie..What if it’s a zombie chasing me? Are there zombies in Kalamazoo, Michigan? Peppermint wouldn’t be afraid of a zombie. She would drag him down and bite him into little pieces until he was really dead. Even if there is a zombie behind me, calling me,I cannot stop or turn around.

“Daisy Daisy… you have to watch out for the cars…”

Cars? I’m not afraid of cars. See, that car stopped for me and let me keep running because they know that a zombie or a bear or a crazy person with a gun is chasing me. They can see that someone scary is trying to get me. See, whoever you are. The cars will stop for me, but you, you old man, or crazy lady, or zombie, you won’t stop until you catch me. But you will never catch me because I will soon be home, and Peppermint is waiting for me. And for you!! 

I’m going to run around this corner and hide behind this hedge. Maybe if I make myself small like a rabbit and hold my breath.

Run, Daisy, Run!

Oh no, it's a policeman. He’s waving at me. Is that what was behind me? Was it the policeman who was following me? If Peppermint was here, she wouldn't be afraid of the police. She would growl so loud he would drop his gun. Does he have a gun? Would he shoot me because I am running away? Would he shoot Peppermint if she tried to protect me?

‘Daisy, don’t move., Stay right there.”

Someone is shaking my shoulders. Is it the thing behind me? Did he catch me? He’s wrapping his arms around me.No, it’s a blanket. No, no, no. He’s going to smother me to death.

“Daisy, Daisy, this is Mom. You are in your nightgown in the middle of the street in the middle of the night, and it’s snowing, Daisy..It’s time to come home. Look who’s here.”

Someone is licking my face. It's Peppermint. My dog, Peppermint. She’s warming my hands with her paws.

“She was whimpering for you when she saw your bed was empty, Daisy... and we followed her, and we found you.”

 No one else is following me?

“No, it was just a dream, and promise me something, Daisy…”

What, Mom?

“That you will never take one of my Ambien pills again.”